St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1887-05-28
STORY OF A SHlPWRECk.

| SuOHV W n S0SVWUeONs
| How Jack. the '.Brave." Rescued the Crew
Of His Fathers Shlp-His Reward.
On the shore of . certain State along
the Atlantic coast, and in spot where
rocky capes abound. there lived fam
lily Of apparently low birth. The name
was Henderson.
The father was . seafaring man. and
spent most of his time in cruising
among the Southern seas, and it was
not often that he visited his home, ex-
cept when his course happened to lie
along that coast. The son. . tall. we'll
built, handsome lad of eighteen, was
the pride Of the old mans heart, and
we may also say the main support of
the family. as he exchanged the pro-
ducts of the sea for those of the fertile
fields of the neighboring villages.
This individuals name was Jack. or.
as he was called. The Brave" . name.
as we shall see later on in the story, Of
which he was not at all unworthy.
Jack had two sisters, beautiful girls of
twelve and sixteen. The above named,
including the poor mother and faith
full old servant, comprised the Hender-
son family.
The house in which they lived was.
- it seemed, the cabin of some ship
which had perished on that dangerous
shore. The outside Of this strange
16ode vas rough and desolate, but all
within vas slid comfort and even
showed signs Of skili On the part Of the
two maidens who had the duty Of
housskssRing to perform. their mother
being too osa>aGiys the proper sttsn-
ton. - -
The cabin was wedged A heGwsen
two large rocks, 20 a. to make it ptosa
against the fiercest gale and also to
protect it from the tides In front there
was q rude wharf constructed of pine
trees lashed together with the fibre Of
some plant which grew in the neighbor-
hood. One looking at this wharf could
see at first sight that Jack's-our hero
idle moments had not been wasted.
On either side was large coil Of rope
fastened down by iron clamps. In the
center there was q stack of life pre-
servers made of straw and the bark of
some tropical tree, which his father
had gathered in his wanderings. In
front there was . hash-light erected for
the purpose of warning passing ships
against the dangers of that coast; while
t. the water. and fastened to the wharf
by strong cords attached to iron spikes,
there foated several skiffs, each having
. pretty and appropriate name.
In fact, on that little wharf You
would have seen . complete life-saving
apparatus. This was Jacks pride. and
well it might be; for by that inanimate
coil Of rope. assisted by his brawny
arm. many q life had been saved and
many blessings called down upon that
noble lad.
The time at which the present narra-
tive begins was during the month of
September, and at a time when the
mighty deep was disturbed by storms
Of the fiercest kind. The smoke curled
up from the chimney Of the little cabin,
for the wind had set in, driving all idle |
strollers into their homes.
It was on one Of these cold, bleak
that Jack Henderson rose
from an uneasy sleep; for the wind had |
been blowing . gale. and even now, -
he stood facing seaward. he could see the |
white foam dash against the projecting |
rocks and then rise into mountains Of |
spray.
The air was cold and foggy. and the
lark clouds were driven swiftly along
heir course; in fact it was such day
Is caused all labor to be suspended,
and Jack had foreboding that some
hing wrong was about to turn up
Consequently. after seeing that all his
things were in order. he ascended into
he highest window. glass in hand. to
watch.
Several hours passed in this way,
Turing which the rain fell in torrents
md the turbulent sea seemed a. II it
we're troubled BY some supernatural
l0rce.
At length the clouds began to break.
md q faint CLEAN Of light peered
through the aperture. Jack placed the
glass to his eyes and gazed long and
when. all Of . sudden, he
'ushed out upon the wharf with . wild
ny. calling to his eldest sister. Emily,
o follow him. At no great distance
rom the shore and heading straight
nto the rocks, he could see his fathers
hip--the Albatrosa
No sooner did his sister understand
he situation than she was by her
side. helping to unfasten the
oPes AM put them into one Of the
argest skids When all things Of any
loe Wero nut into tha hat th> -